Iran slams Britain for removing MKO from terror list

Tehran, June 25, (IANS) Iran Wednesday condemned the British parliament’s decision to remove extremist group Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization, popularly known as MKO, from its list of terror outfits, official IRNA news organisation reported. In a press conference here, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the decision by Britain showed the country’s “hostile and dual approach towards the war against terror”.

Stressing that the MKO is responsible for numerous terrorist activities inside Iran, including the April’s Mosque blast in the city of Shiraz that killed 10 people and wounded about 200, Hosseini said London has “separated its route from that of the global community and isolated itself” with the decision to remove the group from its terror list.

“By adopting unilateral and one-sided policies towards the terrorist group MKO, the British government is pursuing its special and short-lived interest,” Hosseini alleged.

On Monday, British parliament approved a decision to remove banned MKO from the country’s list of deadly terror groups following a last month’s order to do so by the British Appeal Court.

Iran accuses the MKO of having been involved in several assassinations of high-ranking officials and politicians, including the country’s prime minister and president in 1980.

The MKO was one of the deadly terrorist outfits allegedly allied with the regime of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and received most of its support from the dictator. The terror group was reportedly assisting the executed Iraqi leader in suppressing opposition within Iraq.

Before the collapse of the Saddam regime, the outfit has allegedly infiltrated Iranian territory several times, leading to clashes with Iranian forces and casualties on both sides.

The MKO still remains on the terrorist list of the European Union and the US.